Be part of the first big push with Canada’s new government.

Housing on the Hill Day is back on Tuesday, December 2, and this year is more important than ever. CHRA’s annual advocacy day brings community housing leaders face-to-face with MPs and Senators to push for real solutions to Canada’s housing crisis.

With a new federal government in place, we can’t afford to sit back. This is our chance to make sure decision-makers understand that community housing must be at the heart of Canada’s housing agenda.

 

A guide to Housing on the Hill Day

Housing on the Hill Day is an annual event organized by CHRA that facilitates meetings between housing professionals and Parliamentarians to discuss issues of importance to the social and non-profit housing sector. This year’s event will be taking place on Tuesday, December 2.

Prior to the event, attendees will be placed into advocacy teams based on similarities in the regions and/or communities they serve, the type of housing/services they provide, their areas of advocacy interest, etc. Participants will then meet with MPs and Senators throughout the day while we offer ongoing programming at 66 Slater Street.

Participants will be fully prepared before the meetings begin. You’ll join a team of peers from your region and sector so that your voice is amplified in conversations on the Hill. At a date that is soon to be determined, we’ll hold an online training session to walk participants through the key messages we’ll be bringing to Parliament as well as what they can expect from their meetings. Then, on December 1, we’ll gather in Ottawa for an in-person training session designed to sharpen practical advocacy skills through interactive exercises and real-world examples.

Housing on the Hill is also about building community. On the evening of December 2, participants will be invited to a reception and networking event with colleagues and Parliamentarians. And on December 1 we are excited to host a special screening of Thinking Beyond the Market, a powerful documentary by Dr. Brian Doucet that explores how communities across Canada are advancing housing as a human right.

 

What are we advocating for?

Canada is at a turning point. The priorities set in the coming months will shape our housing system for years to come. If community housing voices aren’t at the table, they will be left out of the conversation. Housing on the Hill is your chance to make sure Parliament hears us loud and clear: the path to solving the housing crisis runs through community housing.

Despite this Canada’s supply of community housing represents less than 4% of Canada’s total housing stock. That’s why CHRA consistently advocates for the investments we need to double the share of community housing stock.

As a cornerstone of the current government’s plans for housing, it is going to be incredibly important that Build Canada Homes works for the community housing sector. This will be core to the message that we are bringing to Parliament Hill this year.

We will also bring forward the need for a stronger federal government commitment to for-Indigenous, by-Indigenous housing in urban, rural, and northern areas. Despite years of commitments, the federal government has failed to deliver the sort of commitment that Indigenous housing providers need to address the historical housing gaps faced by Indigenous people. Indigenous housing providers cannot keep waiting to deliver urgently needed housing development for Indigenous people living in urban, rural, and northern areas. And so this too will be a core part of our message at this year’s housing on the hill.

You must be a 2025 CHRA member to participate. Not a member? Learn more about CHRA membership.

Learn more and register for Housing on the Hill 2025.